The Key

Brooklyn’s Savoir Adore were born 5 years ago on a dare (“spend 48 hours together; write music”), but since then have transformed into one of the borough’s most popular purveyors of dream pop. The brainchild of Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro, the band has won fans with catchy melodies, relentless creativity, and an inescapable flair for theatrics. On new record Our Nature (out now), the band incorporates lush melodies, sparkling beats, and dramatic narrative to grand effect. I chatted with Hammer as he rolled down the highway en route to the first stop on a Northeast tour—about influences, tour rituals and what fans can expect from Savoir Adore live.

The Key: Compared to [previous record] In the Wooded Forest, Our Nature seems a bit dancier and more unified. Was this the intention?

Paul Hammer: Definitely. I think overall we took our time with this record a little bit more than in the past. There was also always very much a narrative idea that developed as we were writing the record…starting with the song “Loveliest Creature.” We wrote that song first, and then just naturally as we were working on demos, we realized that there was this love story between a monster and a girl. So there ended up being a narrative that ran throughout.

As for the dancier elements of the record, I think that that is as a result of us having really gotten into some dancier music, and having played with a lot of dancier bands than in the past…so as we started working, we ending up having heavier beats than we did in the beginning.

TK: Tell me about the “Dreamers” video. Deidre appears to be some sort of fairy snow queen, and you seem to be some sort of Shakespearean wood nymph, wearing a Mardi Gras mask. I love it—but what does it mean?

PH: In some ways I’d say the video represents me and Deidre meeting in our own imaginations. I am this character in this dream world…and whether I’m looking for something or running away from something we don’t know…and then I happen to meet Deidre who is this other character in the dream world. And the takeaway is that there’s this adventure that we’re about to take together. Continue reading →